When You're Early
by Awesome Fat Kitty
Summary: It's always the same routine, just to hear her wish him good morning. But what happens when he's early one morning? "I didn't see you on my way to work so I thought I'd stop in," she said a bit quickly and he frowned, wondering why this all seemed so familiar. AU. One-shot. Rumbelle smut.


When You're Early

**Disclaimer: I do not own "Once Upon a Time" or any of its characters.**

**A/N: This is another AU Rumbelle one-shot, but it's a lot racier. ;) Again, as in all of my Rumbelle stories, Belle is not in a psych ward. She's…hanging around. I'm attempting my skills at writing them and I still don't think it's very good. Hopefully you enjoy this anyways!**

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He sat in a chair behind his desk, staring blankly down at the papers in his hand. Usually, he was only just getting to his shop right now. But he was tired. He hadn't slept well the night before and so when he had woken up again earlier that morning, he had simply gotten up for the day. It meant he had had breakfast early, had opened the store early. But there was nothing wrong with early mornings. The only thing he'd regret would be not seeing her face this morning, but he didn't think he should keep subjecting himself to that anyways.

He heard the bell over his door signaling a customer, but he didn't get up. It was early; no one important ever came in this early. But instead of hearing the door open and close again, as he expected would happen when they realized he wasn't there, he heard shuffling as the customer only moved further into his store. He sighed in irritation, standing up to move to the front. He couldn't have them stealing his stuff, after all. His brow simply rose at the sight that greeted him.

"Good morning, Mr. Gold," her voice was bright and there was that pretty smile. His own lips twitched as he tried not to smile in return and he simply nodded a greeting.

"Good morning, Miss French," he finally got the words out, leaning against the counter as he studied her. She was wearing a pretty blue dress today –his favorite. "What brings you in so early?" He watched as her cheeks turned a light shade of pink, but she still smiled and met his gaze.

"I didn't see you on my way to work so I thought I'd stop in," she said a bit quickly and he frowned, wondering why this all seemed so familiar.

"You didn't need to do that," he said softly, but she just shrugged and stepped up to the counter.

"I like seeing you in the morning," she said quietly, looking down at the objects in the case instead of at him before she spoke. His brow rose again and he opened his mouth to say something, but then closed it again. She thankfully missed this display of speechlessness, trying to look so immersed in the little glass pieces in the case. "Oh, these are so pretty."

"Do you see something you like?" he asked slyly and she looked up and smiled, pointing down at the piece in the center. He smirked. "The rose is definitely the best looking piece I have. I do believe it might be a little bit out of your price range, however, Miss French." She shrugged, though her smile faltered a bit.

"I'm not surprised. I think most things are out of my price range in this store, as wonderful as they are," she said with a slight laugh. She took a step back from the counter, but her eyes were still drawn to the glass rose sitting so delicately in the case. He noticed. Of course he noticed.

"Would you like it?" he found himself offering and she looked up at him in surprise. He wanted to kick himself for speaking, but as she smiled wistfully at him he wondered if perhaps this could be his chance.

"I would love it," she admitted, "but you just said yourself it's probably out of my price range."

"I'd be willing to let it go for only one stipulation," he said slowly and she frowned slightly. She knew about his dealings, she had heard what he asked from people. She didn't think she had anything to offer –she wasn't pregnant, she didn't have any prized possessions, and she certainly didn't have much money other than what she made from work. But that went to helping her father pay the rent and bills that they were behind on.

"What is that?" she finally asked, holding her breath in anticipation. Surely it couldn't be too terrible, could it? She glanced back down at the rose. It was so pretty and there was something about it…

"Have tea with me," he said casually. Her gaze shot back up to his face and her eyes widened in shock. It was that simple? She didn't see the harm.

"Right now?" she asked and he smiled gently, moving to the side of the counter to open it for her.

"Why not?" he said and she blushed slightly, moving to join him behind the counter as he motioned her over. "I had just put some on, actually. It's the perks of owning a store with all these antiques. I have the greatest little contraption that heats a pot of water without much trouble…"

She followed him into the back as he explained the machine. Told her it had been an old invention of someone at some point in history, but it had never gotten big the way things like cars or the stove had. She just nodded and smiled, accepting the cup of tea he offered, before moving to sit down in the only chair available to her –in front of his desk. He sat in the chair on the other side and they sat there for a few moments in silence. She sipped her tea, feeling slightly nervous as she studied him. He had such delicate hands, she thought. Such a refined face. He drank his own tea, unsure of how to break this awkward silence.

"How is your father's business doing?" he asked and she smiled gratefully, glad for the casual conversation to take her mind off of him.

"It's doing alright," she mused and took a sip of her tea while she tried to think of what else to add. "It's a bit slow at this time of year, but hopefully with the holidays coming up business will pick up a bit. Christmas isn't especially big, but New Year's is, surprisingly. And then of course things will get busy at Valentine's Day and with all the weddings in the spring, we should break even."

"I'm glad to hear it," he said honestly. Even if he had never been particularly fond of her father, he still wouldn't wish any ill upon her or anyone she cared about. He wanted her to be happy, to be able to look at him with such a bright smile like she did every morning.

"How is this business going? I hardly ever see anyone in here," she said with a slight laugh and he shrugged, leaning back in his chair as he set his empty mug down.

"It does well enough and I have plenty going on outside of it that I don't worry about it, quite frankly," he said casually and she nodded before looking down at her own empty mug. He stood up and began to make his way around the desk. "I'll just get us some more tea."

"No, please, let me," she said and stood up quickly, blocking his path. He raised his brow at her hand as she held it out to him and he wondered if she realized just how close they were. All he would have to do is lean forwards and he could kiss her. He felt his heartbeat quicken and when she suddenly blushed, he almost thought she could read his mind. Almost.

"That's alright," he said softly and reached out, taking the mug from her hand instead. Their fingers brushed and she turned a darker shade of pink, avoiding his gaze. He couldn't help but smirk, even though his stomach was flipping and his hopes began to rise. So instead of moving past her, like he had planned, he set the mugs down on his desk and took a step closer. She looked back up at him, her eyes wide and her mouth parted and her face flushed. She was just so…tempting.

"Mr. Gold?" she breathed, slightly confused as to what was happening.

But she felt it too, saw his closeness, saw his gaze move down to her lips, and she felt her heart flutter. She knew her face was heating up, and her breath got caught in her throat. And when he didn't respond, when he reached up with one hand and gently cupped her face instead, it felt like the world had stopped moving.

"Belle," he said her name softly, trailing off. His eyes searched hers, as if looking for some form of protest. But her eyes began to close instead, in preparation, and she didn't pull away. So he closed his own eyes and then closed the distance between them. She stepped closer, pressed herself against him, and smiled against his lips.

The kiss was soft, it was slow, it was sweet. Her lips were warm and inviting and he kneaded them with his own, trying to get closer. When she smiled, he almost melted at the feeling that shot through him. But he didn't. He just kissed her harder, ran his tongue along her lower lip. She gasped and he used that as his opportunity, slipping his tongue in and maneuvering them. Their lips met in a passionate battle as he pushed her back against the desk. He leaned his weight half on her, half on the desk, so he could drop his cane and use both of his hands. He wrapped them around her, ran them up her back and then down her sides and over her hips. She slipped her arms around his neck, tangling her hands in his hair.

When his hands slid beneath her dress, running along the sides of her bare sides, she moaned at the feeling. A shiver went down her spine and she pressed into him more, urged him to continue. He happily obliged, feeling relieved that she wasn't pushing him away. He continued to run his hands all the way up to her hips, taking her dress with him as he did so. And as he ran his hands up farther, along her sides and the sides of her breasts, she brought her hands down to frantically undo the buttons of his shirt. He had taken his suit coat off and hung it up before sitting at his desk earlier that morning –it could be hot in here.

He brought his hands around to cup her breasts at the same time that she finished undoing his shirt. She grabbed at the ends, moaning into his mouth and arching into him. She wasn't wearing a bra today and that made him groan slightly as he kneaded the soft flesh beneath his hands. She cried out as he brushed his fingertips over her nipples, but then he was sliding his hands back downwards on her sides and over her hips again. She whimpered and opened her eyes to look at him as she ran her own hands over his now bare chest, trying to feel every inch of him. Her look was pleading and he just smirked as he slipped one hand down farther, delicately running his hand over her panties.

She gasped as he hit the spot she wanted touched most and she tried to arch her hips up into him, but he chuckled and moved his hand away. She reached down and began to fumble with his belt, undoing the button and zipper and pulling him out. He moaned at her sudden neediness, at the feel of her hand on him, and he rocked his hips. She giggled and kissed him again, wrapping her free hand around his shoulders and pulling him closer. He grabbed both of her hips and arched his forward, but then he grabbed her hand and pushed it aside.

He pushed her back until she was almost lying down on the desk, running his hands over her again before he pushed her dress back up and held it above her hips. With his other hand, he pulled her panties aside and positioned himself at her entrance. She brought a leg up and wrapped it around his waist. He reached around her as he pushed in a little, grabbing her ass and lifting her up until both of her legs were wrapped around his waist. She wrapped both her arms around his neck and kissed him hard as he finally pushed all the way in. She pulled back to look at him, her mouth opening as he began to move.

But instead of moaning, a sharp repetitive sound came out. He looked at her in confusion, letting go and pulling away. His vision started to blur as the sound grew louder and everything went dark until he opened his eyes. He rolled over and glared at his clock, hitting it with his hand to stop the alarm. What a way to ruin his good dream, he thought, but he slowly pulled himself out of bed anyways. He was hard from his dream and he groaned again at the thought of it. How unrealistic that was, though. He shook the thoughts away and climbed into his shower, turning it to cold.

He made it to the diner earlier than usual. He sipped on his coffee, but passed on reading the paper today. He just wanted to get to work and begin the day. The details of his dream were starting to fade, but he let them. There was no use trying to hold on to something that wasn't real. Throwing down a few bills for his coffee, he exited the diner and headed towards his shop.

It was early. Very early. The sun had only just risen and the air was still chilly and crisp. Breathing in deeply, he opened his store and entered. There was no point in waiting around for Belle to say good morning. That wouldn't be for another half hour, at least. He would look foolish. Shaking his head, he moved to the back and turned on the old tea maker he had. It was an odd contraption, something he had never seen before until an old man had brought it into his shop. It worked well enough, even if it probably wasn't the safest machine in the world. He shirked his suit jacket, hanging it up as the room began to warm. That was one of the faults of the machine.

Grumbling about needing something quicker and better, like one of those new Keurig machines, he took a seat at his desk and began to shuffle through his papers. He was preparing work for the day, looking over potential clients, when the bell went off over the door to signal a customer. He paused, listening, but didn't move. He was hoping to wait it out. Yet, instead of leaving once they noticed he was not present, like he expected, they shuffled farther into the store. With a sigh of irritation, he stood up and made his way to the front. Couldn't have anyone stealing now, could he? His brow simply rose at the sight that greeted him.

"Good morning, Mr. Gold," her voice was bright and there was that pretty smile. His own lips twitched as he tried not to smile in return and he simply nodded a greeting.

"Good morning, Miss French," he finally got the words out, leaning against the counter as he studied her. She was wearing a pretty blue dress today –his favorite. "What brings you in so early?" He watched as her cheeks turned a light shade of pink, but she still smiled and met his gaze.

"I didn't see you on my way to work so I thought I'd stop in," she said a bit quickly and he frowned, wondering why this all seemed so familiar.

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**And end! See what I did there? Sneaky, sneaky! I hope the characterization is ok. I'm more worried about ever getting Belle down than I am anyone else. If I can get that, I might be more inclined to write a full length story instead of a few one-shots here or there. But she around Gold and she around everyone else are…vastly different, I would think. Maybe? I don't know. Comments would be nice.**

**I hope the smut wasn't too much and that you enjoyed it! I think it was getting pretty steamy when that darn alarm clock went off! Don't you? ;) I made up the tea machine, by the way. I just thought it'd be dumb if he had a stove in there. And also, Keurig promotion. Dur.**

**Be sure to check out my other Rumbelle one-shot "Fifty Shades of Gold." It's just a little T rated fluff piece. Also check out my story "Under the Sea" which has been updated recently and my other story "From Monster to Man" which will be updated soon, both of which involve our lovely Rumpel and an OC. I'd greatly appreciate it. :D  
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**Please review and let me know what you think! Favorite it, follow or favorite me as an author, anything to let me know that you want more from me like this! Thanks so much!**


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